The right experience to get you safely to your destination

JATO Aviation, founded in 2004, has built a reputation as a premier on-demand private air charter service. We specialize in turbo prop and piston aircraft, providing our clients access to more locations at an affordable cost.

Service to all west coast destinations from the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer a choice of aircraft to best suit your needs including the large capacity Pilatus PC-12 NG or the short range and affordable Cirrus SR22T.

Our aircraft are maintained to the highest level of maintenance standards and are flown by experienced pilots with thousands of safe flying hours.

We would love to show you our superior level of service for your next trip.

JATO Flight Operations Team

April Gafford

CEO/Chief Pilot

April brings years of Aircraft Charter and Flight school experience to JATO Aviation. As our Chief Pilot and CEO, she has over 4000 hours as pilot in command time. April founded JATO Aviation in 2004 with the goal of creating a better way to train pilots based on a standardized training structure. She ensures that our part 135 air charter operation is performing to the highest safety standards with every flight. She knows what it takes to ensure your charter trip will be perfect.

Mark Smith

Director of Operations

Mark started flying in High School and has been a pilot for over 53 years. A recipient of the FAA’s Master Pilot Award, he has over 15,000 hours of flight time. He spent 27 years in the Air Force flying B-52’s and RC-135’s. After retirement from the Air Force, Mark flew as a charter pilot in the San Juan islands until he started a charter company in 2003 with the PC-12. He continues his association with aircraft charter as the Director of Operations for JATO Aviation, LLC. With over 4000 hours in the PC-12, Mark provides the JATO pilots with the best in training and customer support.

Graeme Baylen

Flight Operation Assistant

From bookings to dispatch, Graeme works behind the scenes to make sure your flight is ready when you want to fly. He knows the ins and outs of flying and what it takes to get an aircraft ready for a trip. Graeme also works our flight school operations and is an instrument rated private pilot. He is working on his commercial pilot rating.

Our experienced pilots

Tammy Burton

Charter Pilot

Tammy’s career as an aviation professional spans more than 25 years and 8,000 hours and includes extensive experience as a line pilot flying single and multi-engine turbine aircraft in the Part 135 environment. Tammy joined JATO Aviation in 2017 as a charter pilot and flight instructor. She holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate (ATP) along with CFI, CFI-I, and MEI Flight Instructor certificates.

Dave Fry

Charter Pilot

Dave started flying 50 years ago and has been instructing for 44 years. His passion is flight instruction in turboprop aircraft and jets, as well as writing about flying safety (or anything else that strikes his fancy. Dave joined JATO in 2011 as a charter pilot. He has flown over 16,000 hours and holds an ATP Certificate with Single and Multi-Engine Land and Single Engine Sea ratings, as well as Commercial privileges in Helicopters and Gliders. He is a Gold Seal CFI with Single and Multi-Engine, Instrument and Glider ratings, as well as being an Advanced Ground Instructor.

Mark Heidenreich

Charter Pilot

Mark’s career as an aviation professional spans more than 30 years. As a corporate pilot with a major midwestern conglomerate flight department, we operated a fleet of corporate jets worldwide to meet the significant travel needs of top management. Passenger safety and satisfaction were made a daily priority for me. Mark joined JATO Aviation in 2012 as a charter pilot and flight instructor. He’s accumulated more than 19,000 hours total time. He holds CFI/CFII/AGI, and Cirrus Training Center Instructor certificates.

Paul Nissley

Charter Pilot

Paul has been a professional aviator for 20+ years, has accrued 9000+ incident-free flight hours, and has worked as a line-pilot, training captain, check-airman and chief pilot. He has flown, managed large jets, and worked in executive management for several prominent Part-135 charter companies (first US certified ISBAO operator and first to use EFB’s). Paul has a technical background, extensive multi-engine turbine and glass-cockpit experience holds an ATP pilot certificate and is also a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI/CFII/MEI/IGI/AGI).

We've got the perfect charter aircraft for your trip

Pilatus PC-12 NG

It's fast, big, and can haul everything you need and land almost anywhere in luxury.

Cirrus SR22T

Go in style on a luxe Pilatus PC-12 NG or fly in the efficient Cirrus SR22T G5 aircraft. Whichever you choose, you’ll get a fast, accurate quote. Our dedicated Flight Support team is ready to make your next private air charter is perfect. You can be sure our aircraft are serviced by leading, factory-authorized maintenance facilities, and our pilots have years of experience. Fly in comfort and arrive at your destination safely and efficiently.

JATO Aviation is a FAA licensed Part 135 air charter operation based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We fly the Pilatus PC-12 NG and Cirrus SR22T to all West Coast destinations. We also inspire those that want to fly with our flight training center.